USC's Watkins to miss season following ACL tear

USC prima JuJu Watkins volition beryllium retired the 2025-26 assemblage hoops play arsenic she continues to retrieve from a right ACL tear that she suffered successful the 2nd circular of the NCAA tournament, she announced Sunday.

"These past fewer months person been filled with a batch of healing, rest, and reflection," Watkins posted to her Instagram story. "Recovering from this wounded hasn't been easy, and I privation to accidental convey you -- your love, support, and benignant words person genuinely lifted maine up during 1 of the astir challenging times successful my life.

"Because you've been with maine each measurement of the way, I wanted you to perceive it from maine straight that pursuing the proposal of my doctors and trainers, I volition beryllium retired this play and afloat absorption connected continuing to retrieve truthful I tin travel backmost to the crippled I love."

Watkins averaged 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.2 per crippled arsenic a sophomore connected her mode to winning aggregate subordinate of the twelvemonth awards and becoming a two-time first-team All-American. At 20 years old, she's already wide considered to beryllium a apical WNBA prospect.

"JuJu's wellness and well-being are our apical priority, and we afloat enactment her determination to absorption connected betterment this season," USC manager Lindsay Gottlieb said successful a statement. "While we volition surely miss her interaction connected the court, she continues to play a captious relation successful our programme arsenic a person and teammate. The spot and maturity she has shown done this process is simply a reflection of who she is, and we cognize the Trojan Family volition proceed to rally down her. We look guardant to the time she returns to contention stronger than ever."

The 6-foot-2 defender catapulted her hometown Trojans backmost into nationalist relevance arsenic soon arsenic she stepped onto campus. She led USC to the 2024 Pac-12 tourney rubric and the 2025 Big Ten regular play crown, positive back-to-back No. 1 seeds and Elite Eight finishes successful the NCAA tournament.

Watkins reached 1,000 vocation points successful 38 games, tied for the fourth-fastest to scope that milestone successful Division-I history.

USC volition not lone person to woody with Watkins' absence, but reset pursuing the departures of Kiki Iriafen, Rayah Marshall and Talia von Oelhoffen (graduation) positive Avery Howell and Kayleigh Heckel (transfers). The Trojans, however, volition bring successful No. 1 enlistee Jazzy Davidson to assistance soften the blow.

"I'm excited to support putting the enactment successful to travel backmost adjacent stronger," Watkins wrote.